U.S.S. Damocles
The U.S.S. Damocles is a Broadsword-Class starship and the flagship of the Starfleet Rapid Deployment Force History 2390-2393: Design Construction With the end of the Dominion War, Starfleet felt a deep need to improve its military capacity and the Broadsword-class was the ultimate expression of that need. After the pathfinder and the U.S.S. Excalibur served as test-beds for the technology, the third vessel was allocate the name U.S.S. Damocles and intended to use all the experience of the earlier vessels. The keel was laid in 2390 and after several years of construction the Damocles was finished and made flagship of Starfleet - a role she held for a decade. Current Status The Damocles is the flagship of Starfleet's Rapid Deployment Force, a taskforce kept on standby to deal with emergencies. As such she sees service coreward & spinward, at all trouble spots were Starfleet wish to show their seriousness by sending their finest combat vessel. The current crew is headed by Captain Kostas Papathanisou and his second officer, Commander Shilpa Sharma. Their sentient computer manifests as Kahless, prophet of the Klingon people, and expresses a warrior temperament to match. Several alumni of the Enterprise-F were former crewmembers on the Damocles: including First Officer Saph Betal and the former Chief Engineers Claire Kilsyth Commander James Gray. Appearance The Broadsword-class is one of the largest vessel ever built by Starfleet, dwarfed only by the Federation-Class explorers but appearing far more sleek in design than those vessels. As with most vessels of Starfleet design it is based around a saucer-shaped primary hull and a secondary hull which houses the ship's primary engines on nacelles. The saucer is an saucer with a circle cut out of the front, creating a "pointed" appearance. Her height is quite small for a vessel of her size and her design has been purposefully shaped to minimise her subspace signature. Capabilities Broadsword-class craft are the most potent military ships ever made by Starfleet. Rapid-discharging EPS capacitance banks and ACB jacketing allow the 14 phasers arrays to operate at peak efficiency and even to fire at warp. Ablative armour protects the vessel in cases where the FSS-3 shield system fails. The only system which suffers on the ship are transporters, as the layers of ablative armour and sensor-dampening equipment impairs their operation. The Warp Drive has a sustainable speed of Warp 9 with special warp geometry considerations minimising damage to subspace & the ship caused by high speeds. The crew of approximately 1270 live in good conditions, with access to various recreational facilities including crew lounges, gymnasiums and holodecks. The most distinctive feature of the vessel is the low subspace sensor profile. Despite their size, Broadsword-class vessels have a far smaller reading on sensors and can operate stealthily without recourse to banned cloaking devices. Unfortunately, this design has drawbacks - namely repair work is slow to ensure the carefully balance of physical shape and energy signatures does not jeopardise the vessel's stealthy nature. Current Senior Staff As Of 2406 Senior Officers * Captain: Captain Kostas Papathanisou * First Officer: Commander Shilpa Sharma * Executive Officer: XXX * Chief of Security: XXX * Chief Engineer: XXX * Chief Medical Officer: XXX * Chief Science Officer: XXX Warrant Officers & Specialists * Ship's Holo-Avatar: Kahless * Flight Controller: XXX Damocles, U.S.S. Damocles, U.S.S.